Automatic forging machine



Jan. 12, 1937.

H. F. JOHNSON AUTOMATIC FORGING MACHINE Filed Sept. 22, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet l lnven Z 07 ATTORNEYS Jan. 12, 1937. H. F. JOHNSON 2,067,270

AUTOMATIC FORGING MACHINE Filed Sept. 22, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 W wyw Arroe/vsrs 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I11. ven. for wwmof/ax/A/sm Armq/vs Ks H. F. JOHNSON AUTOMATIC FORGING MACHINE Filed Sept. 22, 1931 Jan. 1 2, 1937.

3811- 1937- H. F. JOHNSON AUTOMATI C FORGING MACHINE Filed Sept. 22, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IIIIIIIIII.

Arrow/Eva.

Patented Jan. 12, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC FORGING MACHINE Application September 22, 1931, Serial No. 564,319

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a forging machine, and particularly to a forging machine having means for automatically. rotating and moving rod or bar stock between the forging dies.

An object of the invention is to provide a forging machine wherein the manipulation of the blank or stock after it has been fed into the machine will be mechanically and automatically performed through all of the various steps of the forging operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a forging machine, the use of which will resuit in lowering the costs of production, in that the time and labor required for the forging operation will be greatly lessened, since the steps of the operation instead of being manually performed are automatically and mechanically performed.

A still further object is to provide a machine 6 for automatically and mechanically forging rod or bar stock which is eificient in operation and which is composed of relatively few parts of simple and rugged construction.

Further objects and advantages, residing in the invention and in the mechanical make-up and structural details of an embodiment thereof, will appear more fully hereinafter during the detailed description of such embodiment that is to follow.

The embodiment of the invention which is to be specifically described herein is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a view of a machine embodying the invention, half in top plan and half in horizontal section; the half in top plan being located at the upper portion of the view, as seen in the drawings, while the half in horizontal section is taken on line l of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows, the chain, guides and racks being omitted in the sectional portion of the view.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a view half in elevation and half in section; the half in elevation being located at the left-hand side of the view, as seen in the drawings, and being a front elevation of the machine, looking from the right-hand side of Fig. 1, a portion of the chain being removed in this View, while the half in section is located at the right-hand side of the view and is taken through the chain and between the dies substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section through the dies and chain showing a rod of stock in position in the dies, the section being taken approximately on line 4-4 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of a link unit of the conveyor chain.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on line 6-45 of Fig. 5, and

Fig. '7 is a transverse vertical section through the conveyor chain taken substantially on line 'l'! of Fig. 5.

The main frame of the machine is indicated generally at I and comprises a base portion from the opposite longitudinal edges of which side members Ii extend upwardly and are connected intermediate their ends by a low transversely extending portion l2, the rear side of which is arcuately formed, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The side members II from the front side of the portion 12 to their rear ends have their upper edges connected by a cover plate l3, portions of the plate being cut away to provide clearance for certain operative parts of the machine, as will later be explained.

The side members H, the transversely extending portion I2 and the cover plate l3 form the supporting and guiding means for the die carrying rams of the machine, as will later be explained in detail.

Adjacent the rear ends of the side members I! a main drive shaft [4 extends transversely of the machine and has its opposite ends rotatably journaled in suitable aligned bearing openings formed in the side members, it being noted that the shaft [4 extends beyond the side member H at one side of the machine (the upper side thereof as viewed in Fig. 1) and has secured upon such extension a bevel gear 5 the function of which will later be referred to.

A main drive pulley and fly-wheel I1 is keyed or pinned to the shaft M at a point located centrally of the side members H and projects through a suitable opening 13w in the cover plate l3. Although the machine can be driven in a variety of ways, as for example by connecting an electric or other motor to the shaft l4, directly or through gearing, it is proposed to drive the machine by means of a belt extending around a pulley on an overhead or other drive shaft and around the pulley I'l. It should be understood, however, that the manner in which the machine is driven is optional and will vary under difierent conditions and that, therefore, the main drive pulley H is shown herein simply for purposes of illustration. It should also be noted that the pulley I! is designed as a fly-wheel to lessen vibration and shocks in the operation of the machine.

The shaft i l on each side of the pulley IT and between the side members H is provided with pairs of oppositely disposed eccentric portions l8 and I9 respectively, the portions l8 and E9 on one side of the pulley corresponding with the portions I8 and IS on the other side of the pulley. Pitmans 28 are arranged on the eccentrics 89, while pitmans 2! are similarly arranged on the eccentrics N3, the pitmans 29 and 2! being for the purpose of driving the rear ram 22 and front ram 23 respectively.

The rear ram 22 is substantially U-shaped and has its base portion 22a extending longitudinally of and supported by the transverse portion l2 of the main frame; the inner or rearward side 2217 of the base portion 22a being arcuately curved on the same circle as the curve of the rear side of said portion 12 to provide the necessary working clearance between the pulley l i and the ram 22 when the ram is in its most rearward position. The legs 22c of the rear ram 22 extend rearwardly of the machine beyond the shaft l4 and are provided adjacent their rear ends with openings 22d through which the shaft it extends; the openings 22d being of such size and shape as to receive the eccentrics l9 and pitmans 2i) and to provide the requisite working clearance between the legs and the pitmans, the latter of course being operatively connected to the legs 220 of the ram 22 to reciprocate the ram upon rotation of the shaft M as is well understood in the art (see Figs. 1 and 2). The base portion 22a of the rear ram 22 is provided at its opposite sides with laterally projecting portions 22c which engage the inner sides of the legs of the front ram 23 to guide the latter as will be later explained.

The front ram 23 is also substantially U-shaped with the base portion 23a thereof extending across and in front of the base portion 220: of the rear ram, while the legs 23b of the front ram straddle the rear ram and are slidably supported and partially guided by the transverse portion I2 of the main frame. The legs 23?) of the front ram have portions 230 which extend inwardly of the machine and slidably engage the outer sides of legs 220 of the rear ram; the inwardly extending portions 230 being so arranged and proportioned with respect to the throw of the eccentrics l9 and I8 that there will be clearance between the portions 230 and 22e when the rear ram and front ram are separated as shown in Fig. 1. The legs 23b of the front ram have their rear end portions increased in thickness to strengthen the same, such portions being provided with openings 230 similar to the openings 2201 in the legs of the rear ram and through which the shaft Hi extends and in which the eccentrics l8 and pitmans 2| are arranged; the pitmans 2! being operatively connected with the legs 23b in the same way as the pitmans 26 are connected with the legs 220 of the rear ram.

It will be seen that when the shaft M is rotated the eccentrics l8 and I9 will cause an oscillating reciprocation of the pitmans 2i and 2t! respectively, and that this reciprocation of the pitmans will effect a reciprocation of the rams and will alternately move the base portions of the front and rear rams toward and from each other.

It will be noted that the rams, in addition to being supported and guided in their reciprocating movement by the main frame and cover plate l3,- also act themselves to mutually engage each other (the portions 22c and 230) and thereby more accurately maintain the proper registration and alignment of the dies carried by the rams and now about to be described.

The outer side of the base portion 2201 of the rear ram and the inner side of the base portion 23a of the front ram are provided with undercut keyways 22, extending vertically of the machine as viewed in the drawings, receiving keys 25 on the front die 26 and rear die 27 to secure said dies to the rams. In the particular dies illustrated herein, it will be noted that each die is provided centrally thereof with a raised portion 23 gradually increasing in width from the top of the die to the lower end thereof, while on each side of the raised portion 28 are grooves 29 and 30, respectively, downwardly diverging from each other toward the bottom of the dies. The dies are also provided adjacent the grooves 29 with a second raised portion 3!. While the exact construction of the dies is not a part of this invention per se, and will vary considerably in form for different types of work, it will later be pointed out, however, that the dies function in cooperation with the machine in a novel way and therefore, are a part of this invention when taken in combination with the machine.

Forwardly of the transverse portion l2 the side members I l of the main frame rotatably support four shafts 32, 33, 34 and 35 respectively, two of the shafts being arranged above the dies and two being arranged below the dies; which shafts extend transversely of the machine and are each provided on opposite sides of the rams and dies with pairs of spaced sprocket wheels 36 fixed thereto. It will be noted that the front ram 23 and the die 26 are cut away to provide the necessary clearance for the sprockets 36 fixed on the shafts 32 and 35. The sprockets 36 on the shaft 32 are drive sprockets, while the sprockets 36 on the shafts 33, 34 and 35 are idler sprockets. It will be seen that the shaft 32 is extended beyond the side member 5 i on the same side of the machine as that upon which the main drive shaft i 4 is extended, and that this outwardly extending portion of the shaft 32 has fixed thereon a toothed driving wheel 3'! which meshes with the cam 38 of a cam member 39 fixed on a shaft 40 which extends longitudinally of the machine and is rotatably supported in brackets 4i and 42 secured to the side member I! and extending outwardly thereof. The shaft 40 at its rear end has fixed thereon a bevel gear 43 which meshes with the bevel gear IS on the shaft [4, whereby it will be seen that when the main drive shaft M is rotated, the shaft 40 will also be rotated and through the cam 38 will drive the toothed driving wheel 37 and the shaft 32 with the sprockets 36 fixed thereon.

The curvature of the cam 38 is substantially but not truly. of helical form, there being a straight portion 38a of the cam forming inactive sections which do not impart any rotation to the driving wheel 31 and the shaft 32. The cam is so designed that these portions 38a arein engagement with the teeth of the member 31 when the dies are in engagement with the work blanks, as will later be explained.

Extending forwardly from the frame and supported by brackets 44a and 441) secured thereto are oval-shaped track members 44 at each side of the dies and having portions extending downwardly of the machine adjacent the space between the dies, and other portions extending above and below the dies and the outer ram and upwardly of the outer side of the outer ram (see Figs. 2 and 3). It will be noted that the vertically extending portions of the track members 44 are upwardly converging for a portion of their length at the same angle of inclination as are the sides of the raised portion 28 of the dies, the purpose of this arrangement becoming readily apparent hereinafter.

Also supported at the front of the machine and laterally outwardly of the tracks are smaller oval-shaped members 45 which surround the base portion 23a of the front ram at each side of the die 26 carried thereby, and are provided along their outer edges with teeth 46 whereby each member 45 is in the form of a continuous ovalshaped rack. The sprockets 36 support endless chains with the sprocket on the shaft 32 acting as the drive sprocket and the others as idler sprockets. These chains are of peculiar and novel construction, and perform a major function in the operation of the machine and, therefore, the links of the chains will be described in detail.

Referring to Figs. 5, 6 and 7, it will be seen that each chain link is formed of pivotally connected members 47 and 48, a pair of members 41 being pivotally mounted in spaced relation on a pin 49 extending transversely through the link of the chain, while the members 48 are substantially U'-shaped and have the pin 43 extending through a bore in the base of the U, while the arms 48a of the U-shaped members 48 are each in the form of a bell-crank lever, the portions 481), of which extend outwardly of the arms 48a substantially at right angles thereto and are braced at their outer ends by a bolt 50 extending therebetween. Spacing blocks 49a. are arranged on the pin 49 between the members 4'! and the ends of the pin from which it will be seen that the members 41 are held against shifting movement on the pin 49 by the blocks 49a and by the member 48. The opposite ends of the members 41 are pivotally arranged on a pin 5| and are held against movement longitudinally of the pin by strap members 52 that connect each link of the chain to the next link thereof and by arms 53 and 54 likewise pivoted upon the pin 5| and extending outwardly therefrom.

The arms 54 adjacent their outer ends are provided with enlarged bearing portions 54a while the arms 53 at their outer ends have portions 53a directed toward and contacting with the portions 54a of the arms 54. Bolts 55 extend through the portions 53a of the arms 53 and through the outer ends of the portions 54a of the arms 54 to secure the two arms together for movement as a unit, it being noted that inwardly of the bolts there are spaces between the arms for a gear later to be referred to.

Rotatably mounted on the pin 5| between the arms 53 and 54 is a gear unit 56 composed of a large gear 5'! and a smaller gear 58. The small gear 58 during the travel of the chain in the operation of the machinemeshes with the teeth 46 of the continuous oval rack member 45, while the large gear 51 meshes with a gear 59 arranged in the space between the arms 53 and 54 and having a sleeve portion rotatably mounted in a bearing opening 60 formed in the enlarged portion 541]. of the arm 54.

A third pin 6| extends through the member 48 at the junction of the portions 48a and 48b of the arms of the member and has rotatably ar ranged thereon intermediate said arms a gear unit 55 composed of the large gear 57 and small gear 53, it being noted that the gear units on both the pins 5| and BI are identical. The portions 4% of the arms of the members 48 rotatably support therebetween a gear corresponding to the gear 59 above referred to and meshing with the large gear 51 of the gear unit on the shaft 6|, it being understood that the small gear 58 of said unit meshes with the rack 45. The sprockets 36 as previously stated are arranged in pairs on the shafts 32, 33, 34 and 35 respectively, at opposite sides of the dies and act ,as driving and idler sprockets for the chains.

The sprockets of each pair are spaced apart a sufficient distance to enable the teeth of the sprockets to engage in the spaces of the chain beween the members 4'! and 48 and the connecting strap members 52 that join the units of the chain together. It will be seen that when the shaft 32 is rotated the chains will be driven by the sprockets 36 fixed to said shaft around the other pairs of sprockets and, since the small gear 58 of each gear unit 56 is in mesh with the oval rack 45, the gears 59 rotatably supported by the arms 53 and the portions 4% of the arms of the members 48 will also be driven.

A plurality of rollers 62 are arranged on each side of the dies for the purpose of rotating the stock during the rolling operation, such rollers being provided with spindle portions 63 extending outwardly toward the sides of the machine and having fixed thereon grooved rollers 64 arranged to travel on the guide tracks 44. The spindles 63 of the stock rollers extend outwardly of the grooved rollers 64 and through the sleeves of the gears 59 carried by the arms 53 and 54 and the portions 48b of the members 48 of each chain link unit. The spindles 63 are provided with spline grooves 65 slidably receiving keys 66 carried by the sleeve of the gear 59 so as to rotate therewith but to be capable of sliding movement therethrough, which sliding movement is brought about by the engagement of the grooved pulleys 64 with the guide tracks 44.

Extending toward the right hand end of the machine, as viewed in the drawings, intermediate the oval racks 45 and secured to the cover plate l3, are horizontal supporting brackets 61 to which is secured an apron 68 in the form of a downwardly facing channel having lateral flanges 69 on its downwardly extending arms, these flanges 69 being secured to the supporting brackets 61. The rear end of the apron 68 is downwardly curved as clearly indicated in Fig. 2, I

it being noted that the apron extends horizontally above the front ram substantially midway between the inner edges of the tracks 44 and the oval racks 45, for a purpose later to become apparent.

An apron 10 is arranged beneath the dies and tracks for the purpose of receiving the finished work pieces, this apron 16 being preferably secured at its rear end to the frame H by means of angled portions li extending rearwardly from the apron on both sides thereof.

In order that the function of the parts described herein will be more clearly understood and to further bring out the cooperative relationship between said parts, the operation of the machine will now be described.

Upon the commencement of the rotation of the main drive shaft l4 the rear ram 22 and the front ram 23 will alternately be moved toward and from each other by the pitmans 20 and 2|, respectively, arranged on the eccentrics l9 and N3 of the main drive shaft. This movement of the rams will, of course, bring the dies 26 and 2'! into and out of operative relationship with respect to each other.

The rotation of the main drive shaft M drives the shaft 32 through the shaft Ml and the helical cam 38 and toothed member 31, while the shaft 32 with the sprockets 36 thereon drive the endless chains which extend around all of the pairs of sprockets. It will be remembered that the helical cam 38 is not a true helix but is provided with inactive sections so designed that when the dies 26 and 21 are in working relationship there will be no rotation of the shaft 32 and consequently the chains will be at rest at such times.

The operator inserts the work blanks 12 into the topof the machine upon the apron 68 with the opposite ends of the blanks between adjacent pairs of the stock rollers 62. Although various forms of work may be rolled in the machine, the disclosure herein, for purposes of illustration, has shown the machine as adapted for the rolling of connecting rods, with the dies designed especially for that purpose.

As previously pointed out, the shaft 32 is periodically rotated and stopped in timed relation with the movement of the dies apart and together, from which it will be seen that the chains are driven with a step by step movement. This step by step movement of the chains carries along the blanks that have been deposited upon the apron 68, until the blanks are between the impressions of the dies, it being remembered that the rollers62 are being rotated because of their driving connection with the gears 59, 5? and 58 of the chain link units, but since the arms 53 and 5A are pivotally connected to the chain the rotation of the rollers 52 does not at this time cause a rotation of the blanks 12.

As soon as the chain link units reach a position where the blank arranged between their rollers 62 is in register with the die impressions of the die, the arms 53 and 54 move by gravity until the rollers 52 of the spindles 63 carried thereby are in engagement with the blank, whereupon the rotation of the rollers and spindles during the separation of the dies will cause a rolling movement of the blanks upon the dies.

As the blanks move downwardly between the dies they are subjected to a rapid series of forging blows by the dies, as will be understood, and will gradually be increased in length as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The rollers 62, however, will be maintained in the proper position with respect to the opposite ends of the blanks since the guide rollers 64 fixed on the spindles 63 travel along the downwardly diverging tracks M and shift the spindles 63 outwardly in the sleeves of the gears 59, as previously described.

When the blanks have been carried through the dies and the rolling operation has been completed, the finished blanks drop from between the rollers 62, and upon the apron ill.

The chain link units, after the blanks have dropped out from between the rollers thereof, pass along with the movement of the chains until they are again above the apron 68, the pivoted arms 53 and 54 assuming the position shown in Fig. 2 during their upward travel along the oval guide tracks 44 While the spindles 63 are moved inwardly relative to the sleeves of the gears 59 to position the rollers 62 in blank receiving position, it being remembered that the tracks A l are now upwardly converging.

It will be seen that a forging machine embodying the present invention is capable of mechanically and automatically performing all of the various steps of a complete forging operation once the blanks have been fed into the machine. It Will also be noted that the construction of the machine is such that the complete forging operation upon each blank may be performed in a minimum of time, thus increasing production and lessening costs. In addition, the machine is simple and inexpensively constructed and the parts thereof are such that they are not likely to get out of order and may be readily replaced and repaired.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described herein, it should be understood that the invention is susceptible of various modifications and adaptations within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a forging machine, a pair of rams adapted to carry dies and arranged for reciprocation toward and from each other, means for reciprocating said rams, and means operatively connected with said first named means for moving and rotating a series of work blanks between said rams, said last named means including rollers adapted to engage the work blanks adjacent their opposite ends, and means for automatically adjusting the positions of said rollers as the length of said blanks changes during the rolling thereof.

2. In a forging machine, a pair of rams adapted to carry dies and arranged forreciprocation toward and from each other, means for reciprocating said rams, and means operatively connected with said first named means for moving and rolling a series of work blanks between said rams, said last named means including an endless chain.

3. In a forging machine, a pair of rams adapted to carry dies and arranged for reciprocation toward and from each other, means for reciprocating said rams, and means operatively connected with said first named means for moving and rolling a series of work blanks between said rams, said last named means including an endless chain, and rollers carried thereby and adapted to engage the blanks.

4. In a forging machine, a pair of rams adapted to carry dies and arranged for reciprocation toward and from each other, means for reciprocating said rams, and means operatively connected with said first named means for moving and rolling a series of work blanks between said rams, said last named means including an endless chain, rollers adapted to engage the work blanks adjacent their opposite ends, and means for automatically adjusting the positions of said rollers as the length of said blanks changes during the rolling thereof.

5. In a forging machine, a pair of rams adapted to carry dies and arranged for reciprocation toward and from each other, means for reciprocating said rams, and means operatively connected with said first named means for moving and rolling a series of work blanks between said rams, said last named means including an endless chain, rollers carried thereby and adapted to engage the work blanks, and means operated by the movement of said chain for rotating said rollers.

6. In a forging machine, a pair of rams adapted to carry dies and arranged for reciprocation toward and from each other, means for reciprocating said rams, and means operatively connected with said first named means for moving and rolling a series of work blanks between said rams,

said last named means including an endless chain, rollers shiftably carried by said chain and adapted to engage the work blanks, means for automatically adjusting the positions of said rollers as the length of said blanks changes during the rolling operation, and means operated by the movement of said chain for rotating said rollers.

'7. In a forging machine, a pair of rams adapted to carry dies and arranged for reciprocation toward and from each other, means for reciprocating said rams, and means operatively connected with said first named means for moving and rolling a series of work blanks between said rams, said last named means including a rack, an endless driven chain, a plurality of rotatable spindles carried by said chain and provided with blank engaging rollers, and gearing also carried by said chain and operatively connected with said rack and spindles.

8. In a forging machine, a pair of rams adapted to carry dies and arranged for reciprocation toward and from each other, means for reciprocating said rams, and means automatically operable upon reciprocation of said rams for moving and rolling a series of work blanks between said rams, said last named means including a driven endless chain, rotatable spindles carried by said chain and axially shiftable thereon, and having blank engaging rollers and grooved rollers, a rack, gearing carried by said chain and operatively connected with said rack and spindles, and a track upon which the grooved rollers on said spindles travel.

9. In a forging machine, a pair of rams adapted to carry dies and arranged for reciprocation toward and from each other, means for reciprocating said rams, and means intermittently and automatically operable upon reciprocation of said rams for moving and rolling a series of work blanks between said rams, said last named means including a driven endless chain, rotatable spindles carried by said chain and axially shiftable thereon and having blank engaging rollers and grooved rollers, a rack, gearing carried by said chain and meshing with said rack and operatively connected with said spindles and an angul-arly disposed track upon which the grooved rollers and said spindles travel.

HOWARD F. JOHNSON. 

